I Try to Do Right (But I Got Trouble in Mind)
by kurzelx
Summary: With Brittany's easy nonchalance and that smirk and her cocky attitude, she just isn't Santana's type. At all. (College!AU.)
1. Chapter 1

So this set of drabbles prompted by an anon on Tumblr (kurzelx) now has a title (it's the least cheesy title I could land on, which isn't saying much, tbh.), a loose plot, and is a more filled-out story because I can't write anything short. The first two chapters are definitely written as drabbles, but moving forward, the chapters should be more fleshed out. I'm still aiming to keep these chapters relatively short and the story relatively light, though.

Title is from _Trouble in Mind_ by Larkin Poe, which is the slightly cheesy but totally indulgent song that popped into my head when prompted about Badass!Brittany.

Here's the first drabble, spawned by the anon prompt: "Prompt: version of your badass Brittany wooing the very elusive law student Santana Lopez."

* * *

"God, these vending machines are _crap_ ," Santana mutters underneath her breath.

She kicks the side of the machine to see if she can jostle free the Snickers bar that she forked over her last dollar for, but the candy stays lodged in between the rows.

Santana lets out a groan of frustration, sliding down her glasses with the hand not holding her law textbooks so she can pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Great. Just what I need during finals week," she grumbles. Santana reaches out and smacks the side of the vending machine a few times, but the Snickers bar just taunts her by shifting just a smidge before stilling. "Fuck!"

A stifled laugh stills Santana's hand mid-smack and Santana jumps at the noise, whirling around to find a tall blonde with her arms crossed, leaning against the opposite wall.

"Sorry," the blonde clears her throat, a smirk teasing her lips. "Don't mind me. Continue."

Santana flushes slightly with embarrassment, but she straightens her shoulders, eyes narrowing defensively. "Can I help you?"

The blonde just laughs in response. She _laughs_. Santana grits her teeth. Her tolerance for anything is at negative percent this week and she really needs her damn candy and who the hell does this chick think she is?

The blonde pushes off the wall, striding over to her and Santana tenses in response, but the blonde just crouches down in front of the vending machine.

"Uh, hello? _What_ are you doing?" Santana asks, bewildered.

The blonde looks up at her, running a hand through blonde hair to toss it all over one shoulder. "Helping." She sticks her arm through the vending machine opening, tongue peeking out of her mouth as her brow furrows in concentration, and the sight is… distracting.

Santana shakes her head free of the thought and shifts her textbooks higher in her arms. "It's too high up. You won't be able to reach it."

The blonde stretches her arm higher, her fingers wiggling up the inside of the machine. "Duh, I know," the blonde replies, voice a little strained from effort. "That's why I'm doing… this."

The vending machine pops open with a _click_ and the blonde straightens, shooting Santana a triumphant smirk as she swings open the front of the vending machine.

Santana's eyes widen as the blonde plucks her Snickers free and can barely get her hand up in time to catch it as the blonde tosses it to her. The blonde then starts rifling through the rows, gathering bags of candy and chips in her arms.

"You can't do that!" Santana hisses, crowding closer to shield the blonde from view, who has her arms full of food.

The blonde rolls her eyes playfully. "Oh, c'mon, lighten up. We pay tuition. And it's finals week. This should really be free."

Santana gapes at her as she swings the vending machine door closed and pops the door back into place. "That's not how it works," Santana splutters. "That's not how any of this works. That's _stealing_."

The blonde stuffs her pockets full of her loot and she lets out a dismissive scoff. "See, I like to think of it as creative redistribution." That infuriating smirk reappears on the blonde's lips, as blue eyes twinkle with amusement. "But I mean, I totally get why you would think that. Being a law student and all. No judgment here. Get it? _Judgment_?"

Santana just blinks as the blonde grins at her. "Are you stalking me or something?"

Slender fingers reach out towards Santana and her heart skips a beat but the blonde's knuckles just knock against the stack of law textbooks in her hands. "Nope. Just observant. You're welcome, by the way."

Santana huffs but her craving for chocolate hits her again as the hollowness of her stomach makes itself present. "Thanks," she mutters reluctantly.

"Anytime…?" The blonde trails off, smug grin on her face, obviously waiting for Santana to fill in the blanks and provide her name. Santana hates to admit it, but it's a little charming.

"Santana," she relents.

The blonde's blue eyes brighten at the new information. "You are _very_ welcome, Santana." The blonde steps to walk away but before Santana realizes what she's doing, her hand is reaching out and encircling the blonde's wrist.

"Wait," Santana blurts out. "You didn't tell me your name."

The blonde arches an eyebrow, blue eyes glancing downwards at Santana's fingers around her wrist before glancing back up to brown eyes. Santana immediately drops the blonde's wrist, her fingers tingling.

"Brittany," the blonde offers, pink lips stretched in a smile. Santana holds Brittany's gaze for a beat too long before Santana realizes she's _staring_ and she clears her throat and looks away, her cheeks warming.

A giggle erupts from Brittany and when Santana looks back up at her, that smirk is on those pink lips again and Brittany's head is cocked as she gives Santana this look that she can't quite make out.

"What?" Santana asks self-consciously.

Brittany's smirk grows. "This is totally happening, huh?"

"What is?"

Brittany casually shrugs, gesturing between them. "This."

Santana lets out a laugh in surprise, heat creeping up her neck. "I don't even know you."

Brittany takes a step closer and Santana's fingers tighten around her books as her stomach swoops with Brittany in her personal space. "Sure you do. I'm Brittany and you're Santana and you like chocolate and abusing vending machines and we're totally gonna happen. What else is there to know?"

Santana rolls her eyes playfully at the grin on Brittany's face, confident and wide. "Well, when you put it that way..." Santana trails off dryly but the corners of her mouth twitch upwards unwittingly.

Brittany's eyebrows shoot up and her grin grows wider. "So is that a yes to the date I'm taking you to tomorrow night?"

Santana laughs. "Thank you again for the chocolate," Santana doesn't answer, "And try not to make a habit of stealing, Brittany." Santana turns and walks away and smiles when she hears Brittany calling after her.

"Totally happening!"


	2. Chapter 2

Second drabble.

* * *

"This seat taken?"

Santana glances up to find Brittany standing there, backpack slung over one shoulder, thumb tucked around the strap, blonde hair messily draping over the leather jacket she's wearing.

"Oh. It's you again. The girl who stole, like, twenty dollars worth of stuff from the vending machine," Santana says with an arch of an eyebrow.

Brittany narrows her eyes playfully, a smirk teasing her lips. She leans a hand on the desk next to Santana's books, ducking her head a little to catch Santana's eyes. "Don't you mean the girl that rescued you and your Snickers bar?"

"Right, I forgot you have an interesting way of defining _stealing_ ," Santana remarks.

Brittany throws her head back in a loud laugh, which gets both of them a few shushes and glares sent in their direction from around the library. Santana grabs at Brittany's wrist, tugging her closer to get her to quiet.

"Shh! We're in the library!" Santana rushes out in a whisper, but Brittany just raises an eyebrow, glancing downwards.

"Do you usually make a habit of grabbing at people or am I just lucky?" Brittany says lowly, an amused smile on her lips.

Santana's face floods with warmth as she yanks her hand back to her side. Brittany giggles at the look on Santana's face and Santana huffs, slightly embarrassed. "You're insufferable, you know that?"

Brittany grins. "I'm going to pretend that means _charming_ and say thanks."

"It doesn't."

"Sure, it doesn't," Brittany says with a wink. Santana rolls her eyes in response, even if the heat hasn't left her cheeks. "So, is this seat taken?"

"Yes, actually, I'm waiting on someone," Santana replies, absently pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. The movement catches Brittany's attention and blue eyes track Santana's hand until they lock onto Santana's eyes.

Santana struggles to keep her face impassive, but with Brittany a little closer and leaning over her, Santana has a better view of those blue eyes that have been intriguing her (to her dismay) since the last time she ran into Brittany. They're the most gorgeous shade of blue that Santana's ever seen and Brittany's eyelashes are really long and fluttering lightly and—god, Santana's staring again, isn't she?

Santana clears her throat and looks away, flushing slightly, but Brittany takes pity on her and doesn't make another remark, instead, her smile just grows bigger. "Well, since it looks like they're not here yet..."

Brittany swings around to the seat next to Santana, plucking Santana's backpack from the seat and setting it down on the floor. "Hey!" Santana protests.

Brittany waves a hand dismissively and Santana can only splutter out more noises of protest as Brittany shoves Santana's law textbooks and notebooks to the side to clear the space next to her. Brittany hops onto the desk and takes a seat there, dropping her backpack onto the seat she's freed up and leaning her boots onto the chair.

The commotion draws more attention to them and Santana mutters _,_ "Oh my god," under her breath in embarrassment, shielding her face with her hands. Brittany giggles next to her and Santana peeks out from underneath her hands to shoot her a glare. "Could you sit properly, please?"

Brittany grins and knocks her denim-clad knee into Santana's shoulder, resting back on her hands behind her on the desk. "Nope."

"Great. First stealing, now misuse of property. You're going to get me kicked out of my favorite place on campus," Santana whispers angrily, narrowing her eyes up at Brittany.

Brittany's eyebrows shoot up and her eyes brighten with delight, that amused grin still on her face. "You and your _law_ terms. You need to lighten up, San. Maybe starting with that date we still need to go on."

Santana shakes her head. "I still don't even know you."

"Well, I know you. Apparently, the library's your favorite place on campus?" Brittany asks, her tone teasing. Santana's cheeks feel warm again and she pushes her glasses up her nose.

"Look, I really am waiting for someone, okay? I'm waiting on my math tutor and she should be here any minute. So you'll have to try your whole," Santana gestures vaguely towards Brittany, getting an arched eyebrow in response, " _thing_ on some other poor unsuspecting girl."

Brittany just stares at her, grin growing wider. Santana's really starting to hate how infuriatingly charming that grin is on her. "What's my _thing_?"

"What?"

"You said I have a _thing_. What's my _thing_?" Brittany asks, but the look on her face is smug. Santana flushes at her slip-up. She is not going to give Brittany _any_ satisfaction of admitting her growing affection for Brittany's charm out loud.

"You're insufferable, you know that?" Santana repeats instead, rolling her eyes.

Brittany giggles. "You've said that. Anywho, we might as well get started."

Santana shakes her head. "I told you, I don't know you well enough to go on a date with you."

Brittany laughs. "I didn't mean that, but glad to know I'm not hearing a _no_ there. I meant your tutoring session."

Santana's eyebrows shoot up. "You're my math tutor?"

Brittany grins, scooting off the desk and plopping into the seat next to Santana's. "Yup. Funny coincidence, huh? I told you, we are _so_ totally going to happen."

Santana lets her head fall with a _thud_ onto her textbooks.


	3. Chapter 3

The chapter in which I clearly get carried away.

* * *

" _Why_ can't I get this?" Santana huffs, throwing her pencil onto the desk, the pencil clattering to the far corner.

Brittany chuckles next to her. "It's okay. Math isn't for everyone."

Santana shoots Brittany a dubious look. "Says the math genius."

Brittany grins. "If it helps, I probably really suck at law."

Santana sighs but the corner of her lips quirk up as she gives Brittany a small smile. "A little, but that's not gonna help me pass my Calc final in two days."

Brittany nudges Santana's shoulder with her own, a soft, encouraging smile on her face. "Not with that attitude. Now, c'mon," she reaches across the desk to fetch Santana's pencil, "Stop abusing another inanimate object and try it one more time."

"You're never going to let me live that down, huh?"

Brittany winks. "Never. Now try again."

Santana rolls her eyes skyward before straightening in her chair. "Okay, so…" Santana screws her eyes shut to concentrate on remembering the right way to solve the problem in front of her, taking off her glasses and tossing it on the the desk in order to rub at the bridge of her nose.

Santana blows out a noisy exhale before opening her eyes and hunching over her notebook. "I have to find the value of the integral, first…" She carefully scribbles out line by line of the solution as she works it out, double-checking each line before getting to the final value. "Then, I just have to plug in the units into the integral… meaning, the answer should be this." Santana circles the final answer a couple of times, running the lead of the pencil into the paper, before sitting back and nudging the notebook over to Brittany, confident that she's _finally_ gotten this problem right.

Brittany's oddly quiet, a rarity compared to the handful of times Santana's run into her. Santana raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to check if it's right?"

In an instant, Brittany's eyes refocus as she seems to snap out of it, tugging the notebook in front of her. Brittany checks Santana's answer against her own before nodding. "Good job. You got it," she confirms softly.

Santana grins and bounces in her seat, grabbing at the notebook and Brittany's answer to triple-check. "Thank god! I was stuck on that one forever. I thought I was never going to get it." Only then does Santana notice Brittany's fallen silent again and she looks back to her, finding an inscrutable expression on Brittany's face, her lips slightly parted and blue eyes boring into Santana's.

"What?" Santana asks, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Sorry," Brittany starts, biting down on her lip, before continuing, "It's just… you look really nice without your glasses."

Santana almost scoffs because she thinks Brittany's joking or just trying to lay another line on her, as she's been doing majority of the time they've run into each other this week.

But the expression on Brittany's face and the soft, sincere way she had said it, without any of the bluster or teasing usually evident, make Santana's protests die in her throat.

Heat blooms through her skin. "Thank you," Santana murmurs out, holding Brittany's gaze.

A group of students entering the library breaks the charged moment and Santana flushes, laughing breathlessly, keeping her eyes pointedly on her things as she gathers them. "And thanks for the, um, tutoring session. I feel a lot more prepared for Calc now, thanks to you."

Brittany stands as soon as Santana does, shrugging on her backpack onto one shoulder. "No biggie," Brittany replies, "You're a great student. And don't worry, you'll do great."

Santana finally gathers all of her textbooks in her arms, fiddling with the stack of books to hold them all securely, and looks back up at Brittany.

Here's the thing: Santana's not an idiot.

Brittany, with her tousled blonde hair, long legs, and those crystal clear blue eyes, is hot. Plain and simple. She's only human and Brittany's insane attractiveness was the first thing that stood out to her the minute she turned around and saw her leaning against the wall.

And sitting next to her for over an hour and feeling the heat of her skin near hers as their arms brushed on the desk only solidified the pull of attraction Santana's been feeling since their first meeting in the hallway.

So yeah, Santana's attracted to her.

Not that she'd ever admit this, of course, because, despite how gorgeous those blue eyes are and the way those blonde locks make Santana's fingers twitch to run through them, they're just… too incompatible. With Brittany's easy nonchalance and that _smirk_ and her cocky attitude, she just isn't Santana's type. At all.

Then again, maybe Santana judged Brittany too quickly, seeing how focused Brittany was during their whole tutoring session, just patiently explaining to her how to work through the problems. Even now as Santana looks into Brittany's eyes, that signature smirk that drives Santana up the wall is absent from Brittany's expression, a kind and friendly smile in place instead.

"You know," Santana says carefully, "I had my doubts before our session. I thought you were just trying to get me to go out with you again."

Brittany tilts her head, smile still on her lips. "But?"

"You're… not that bad," Santana admits, the corners of her lips curving up.

Brittany's laugh comes across easily, her eyes crinkled in delight. "I'll take it."

Just as Santana opens her mouth to reply, footsteps thunder from around the corner and a girl carrying a set of books jogs up to their table, slightly out of breath. Santana jumps, taken aback.

"I am _so_ sorry I'm late!" The girl rushes out, "I completely misread the tutoring schedule! Santana, right?"

Santana's eyebrows shoot upwards. "What?" She asks, bewildered.

The girl sets her things down onto the desk. "I'm your Calc tutor! So sorry, the tutoring center's been slammed with finals week so our schedules are crazy. Thanks for waiting." The girl then finally takes notice of Brittany, a confused look coming across her face. "Brittany? What are you doing here?"

"You know each other?" Santana asks slowly, looking back from Brittany to the girl.

"Brittany works at the tutoring center with me," the girl answers.

Santana's jaw falls slack as she turns to Brittany, who has her hands outstretched in defense like she was expecting Santana's reaction.

That smirk reappears on Brittany's lips. "Okay, so I _might've_ seen your name on the tutoring schedule when I swung by and I _may_ have switched some schedules around so I could be the one to help you out."

"I—you—what—" Santana stutters out in disbelief. She looks to the tutor and back to Brittany, whose mouth is twitching like she's about to grin at how worked up Santana's getting. Santana's face suddenly feels uncomfortably warm, the tips of her ears red-hot as she flushes in embarrassment.

"You're unbelievable, you know that!" Santana finally huffs, pointing a finger towards Brittany who breaks out into a sheepish grin. Santana spins on her heel and stalks away.

"Santana, wait!" Santana hears Brittany call after her, but Santana just shakes her head, picking up her pace so Brittany can't follow after her.

Santana strides off to her dorm, determined to hole up there for the rest of the night and focus on acing her finals and putting one infuriating blonde and all of her antics out of sight _and_ out of mind.

/

Santana aces her finals, of course.

After buckling down in her dorm and pulling consecutive all-nighters, she breezes through the rest of her exams. Calculus was the hardest out of all of her finals, but—Santana admits begrudgingly—Brittany's tutoring session really helped her understand the material.

Even though Brittany wasn't really her tutor and was apparently just trying to pull something. Or whatever.

But Santana's trying not to think about that. Or _her._ Since Santana made a point to avoid the library for the rest of the week, she hasn't run into Brittany since, to her relief. The few days of interacting with the blonde had been confusing and distracting and _frustrating_ , all at the worst possible time. So Santana's glad that finals week is over, that the blonde that took up far too much time in her thoughts in just a few days has been thankfully absent from her life, and that she's finally getting out of her dorm and meeting up with Mercedes to grab a coffee.

Santana walks out of her dorm building and spots Mercedes on the grassy quad in the center of the cluster of dorm buildings. Mercedes turns as soon as she spots her and Santana's steps quicken to meet her halfway.

"Finally! Where have you _been_?" Mercedes greets her with an arm around her shoulders, wrapping her up in a hug.

Santana laughs and hugs her back. "I know, I know. But it was finals week. I had a good reason to go M.I.A."

Mercedes rolls her eyes. "Girl, we're taking the same classes so don't even give me that. You could've sent a text so I knew you were alive, instead of ghosting me."

"Well, that's why I'm here now, isn't it? Now, are we gonna get this coffee or not? I needs my caffeine," Santana tugs on Mercedes's arm to get her to start walking and Mercedes follows with a chuckle.

"Don't think I don't know you're just using me for my wheels because you're car-less this semester," Mercedes says breezily, unlocking her black SUV as soon as the pair arrive at the dorm parking lot.

"But it's just so, _so_ sweet," Santana says as she climbs in, trailing a hand over the matte black dashboard, and Mercedes reaches out to swat at Santana's hand.

"Hands off the damn ride, Satan. I just got it detailed," Mercedes points at Santana, narrowing her eyes playfully, and Santana laughs and throws her hands up in defense.

"Okay, relax, I'm hands off _._ Just get me to coffee already." Santana throws on a pair of shades from her purse and snaps towards the road impatiently.

Mercedes rolls her eyes but sets the car into drive. "You are so damn dramatic."

The two catch up over the finals they just took, commiserating over being only five semesters through all of their pre-law classes, before Mercedes pulls up to a bustling coffee shop a few blocks away from campus.

"Why is it always so packed?" Mercedes exclaims as she puts the car in park and the two clamber out of the SUV.

"I know, god, it seems like everyone from campus is always here," Santana grumbles in response, opening the door for the two of them. The coffee shop is a known popular haunt for students from their college, so they see a few familiar faces that both of them send a few nods and waves to, some being in both of their classes, a few that Santana knows from around her dorm, and a couple others that Mercedes knows from the various student clubs she's in.

"So since finals are over, I'm thinking we need to go out. You're staying on campus during break, right?" Mercedes asks as they both fall into line.

"Yeah, broke the news to my mom last week. How are breaks on campus, anyways? I've always thought they'd be dead because everyone goes home," Santana muses, squinting up at the menu as she decides what to get.

"It's pretty fun. A lot of people stick around and you can _finally_ come with me to all the off campus parties over break, like I've been asking you to for the past two years."

Santana rolls her eyes. "Not interested."

"Oh, come on. You were plenty interested back in high school."

"Yeah, that was high school. Now, your girl's just trying to graduate and get to law school."

"You've gone soft, Satan," Mercedes teases as the two get to the front of the line.

Santana rolls her eyes again, hip-checking Mercedes softly. "Shut up and order."

Mercedes just chuckles but rattles off her order to the barista and Santana does the same. When Mercedes reaches into her purse for her wallet, Santana smacks her hand out of the way. "Nuh uh. You fly, I buy, remember? This round's on me," Santana says as she takes out her own wallet.

"Actually, it's on me," a familiar voice chimes in from behind them as a hand slaps a card into the barista's outstretched hand, and Santana's stomach drops as she whirls around.

Brittany's standing there, looking dangerously good in a tank top, a flannel wrapped casually around her waist, with ripped jeans that look almost painted on. She gives a wink to the barista as she takes her card back. Annoyingly, the barista flushes at Brittany's attention and Santana grits her teeth.

"Thanks?" Mercedes says warily, glancing at Santana, who's shaking her head exasperatedly. "And you are?"

"No one," Santana answers flatly, shoving Mercedes towards the other end of the coffee shop where their drinks will be and pointedly away from Brittany.

"I'm Brittany," Brittany offers with a grin, following after the two.

"You two know each other?" Mercedes raises an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"No."

Santana rolls her eyes, turning her back towards Brittany. "No, we don't know each other," Santana confirms to Mercedes, who has an amused look on her face.

Brittany chuckles, stepping around Santana to shoot Mercedes a dazzling smile. "We totally do. We were practically study buddies all through finals week. But I don't know _you_ , though you do look familiar. You are…?"

Mercedes laughs, shaking her head in amusement. "Mercedes. And you know, you look familiar too. I think I've been to a few of your parties. You room with Sam Evans in that house on Shaker Avenue, right?"

Brittany grins. "I knew I've seen you before. Yeah, I do, with a couple others, too. That's what I came over to talk to you ladies about. I wanted to invite you two to a party we're throwing tonight to celebrate being on break. You in, 'Cedes?"

Mercedes hums, shooting a furtive glance to Santana, who has her arms crossed and a scowl on her face, and goes to respond, but the barista calls out hers and Santana's orders. Mercedes goes to pick up the two coffees, sending a friendly smile to Brittany. "You know what, if Santana's down, then I am, too. But it looks like you two need a moment so, Brittany, thanks for the coffee, and Santana, I'll see you in the car?"

Santana sends Mercedes her most withering glare, but Mercedes just lifts her coffee to her lips and raises her eyebrows as she turns to walk out of the coffee shop.

Santana turns towards Brittany. "You need to stop."

Brittany tilts her head innocently. "I don't know what you're referring to. Also, hi. Haven't seen you in awhile."

"That's completely on purpose, because last time we ran into each other, you _lied_ about being my tutor."

"Okay, look," Brittany steps close to Santana, who takes a step back, "I actually came over here to apologize about just that. I should've just been up front with you. It was kind of uncool and I know that you were just trying to get some help and probably didn't need that stress."

Santana keeps her arms crossed, looking off towards the side. She's trying not to show it, but she's actually kind of surprised Brittany's apologizing. "Yeah, you should've and yeah, it was," Santana mutters.

Brittany ducks her head to try and catch Santana's eyes. "Can we start over? We obviously keep running into each other and are gonna see each other around. I'd like to start fresh, if you'll forgive me."

Santana hesitates, finally facing Brittany to try and see if Brittany's being sincere or if she's just trying something. Brittany smiles back tentatively.

"Okay, fine. Whatever. Apology accepted. And since I can't seem to avoid you, for whatever reason, consider the slate clean."

Brittany's smile breaks into a full grin, bouncing on her heels with barely contained excitement, and Santana rolls her eyes gently at her reaction. "But some rules," Santana points at her and Brittany nods fervently. "You've got to stop hitting on me because I've already told you I'm not interested. And no more stunts like the whole tutor thing."

Brittany narrows her eyes, grin still on her face. "You never said you weren't interested. You just said we didn't know each other well enough."

"Yeah, well," Santana clears her throat, "I'm not. And we don't. But since I'm pretty sure Mercedes will end up dragging me to your party tonight, we might as well be on civil terms. But only if you stick to the rules. Got it?"

Brittany composes the expression on her face to a serious one, nodding solemnly. "Got it." Her mouth twitches upwards slightly. "You're really into rules and stuff," she notes nonchalantly.

Santana narrows her eyes at her, walking towards the exit. "Don't push it."

Brittany just hums in response, following after her and through the exit. "So I'll see you two at the party then?"

"Probably, considering how Mercedes keeps looking over here."

"Great. Can't wait to see you. In a totally friendly way, of course," Brittany says with a slight smirk.

Santana rolls her eyes before nodding towards the parking lot. "Are you parked by Mercedes? She's in the black SUV. You can swing by and say bye to her, if you want."

Brittany shakes her head, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. "Nah, I took my bike here. But tell her I said it was good to officially meet her and that I'll see her tonight. See you later?"

Santana just nods as a goodbye, sending Brittany a tight-lipped smile, and Brittany chuckles, raising her eyebrows at her and waving before jogging off around the corner.

Santana sighs as she makes her way over to where Mercedes is parked, already mentally preparing for the barrage of questions she knows she's sure to get.

Santana swings the door open and climbs in, her hand immediately shooting to her coffee and drinking a few gulps to get the caffeine rushing through her, her other hand holding a finger up at Mercedes to tell her to wait.

"Okay, go ahead," Santana sighs after getting her well-needed coffee fix.

Mercedes reaches out and shoves Santana's shoulder. "Girl, you did _not_ tell me you ditched me last week to hang out with that girl Brittany. Since when do you two know each other?"

Santana scowls, rubbing at her shoulder. "Watch it, Wheezy. And we weren't hanging out. I just ran into her a couple times at the library during finals week and she kept talking to me."

Mercedes raises an eyebrow. "Sure seemed like more than that."

Santana picks up her coffee, taking another sip. "It's not. Seriously. We've just bumped into each other a lot recently. That's it. How do you know her?"

"I don't really know her, but I damn sure know _of_ her. She, Sam Evans, and a couple of other people throw these huge functions at their off-campus place all the time. I'm talking _major_ parties. I would've never pictured you two running in the same circles, to be honest."

"What do you mean? You and I run in the same circle and you said you've been to their parties."

Mercedes rolls her eyes. "Yeah, but that's different. I go to a lot of parties and know a lot of different folks. And look, Santana, I say this with love and all, but you've been kind of buttoned up since we got to college. And Brittany's crew, well, they're pretty wild."

Santana scoffs, affronted. "I'm not buttoned up!"

Mercedes shoots her a look. "Girl, other than me, who else do you hang out with? And I'm talking about actually hanging out off campus and not for school. I shouldn't even count because we went to high school together."

Santana huffs. "Well, mostly everyone sucks anyways and okay, so I like to stay in at my dorm most of the time. So what? That doesn't mean I'm buttoned up."

"Right."

"I'm not!"

Mercedes chuckles. "Alright, okay, you're not. So does that mean you'll come with me to the party tonight? Because I've been trying to get at Brittany's friend, Sam, and could use a wingwoman. But only if you're up for it."

Santana nods, straightening her shoulders. "You know what? Hell yes, I'm up for it. We'll go."


	4. Chapter 4

Lots of rowdy college students and party games like beer pong and Flip Cup, which I admittedly definitely had a little too much fun writing.

(I took some liberty with the beer pong rules and also based them off of the house rules I play off of, so suspend your disbelief.)

((Also please be aware, I wrote majority of this chapter half-delirious and coming down with a cold, so. There's that.))

* * *

"Shit," Santana curses under her breath, a bit in awe and a tinge nervous.

Mercedes just laughs and braces her hands on Santana's shoulders, nudging her forwards. "Come on. Let's get in line."

Santana was never a huge partier, even back in high school. Not out of a lack of invitation since she got plenty of those, but Santana really just didn't care enough to go, not when she was trying to graduate high school and secure a full-ride scholarship to her top choice for college. But the few parties she did end up going to during her senior year were nothing like this.

The house is two stories and, even from the curb, Santana can tell each floor is absolutely packed. Neon lights are flickering out of the windows, casting snapshots of light into a mass of a crowd inside. The music coming from the house is loud and heavy, the bass thudding solidly in the night air from a mix of different genres, a steady beat of electronic music layering across a thick hip hop rhythm.

It's so crowded, people are spilling from inside the house onto the sprawling front yard, a sizable crowd milling about the grassy lawn. There are lights and the sound of a crowd coming from the backyard too, hidden behind a gated fence. Coming out from the front door of the house is a line of people waiting to enter, the queue extending past the neighboring house.

"How the hell is this party not shut down already?" Santana mutters as Mercedes guides both of them towards the end of the queue.

Mercedes waves a hand dismissively. "This whole street is pretty much just people from our college so all the neighbors either don't care or are inside."

"And it's like _this_ all the time?" Santana says incredulously, gaping at the amount of people they pass by in line waiting to enter.

Mercedes grins widely. "I told you you've been missing out. This is actually pretty tame compared to the other ones I've been to."

They reach the end of the queue and fall into line and Santana rubs at her bare forearms, goosebumps rising from the night chill and from the lack of coverage her dress provides. "How long is this line going to take? I'm freezing."

Mercedes lets out an amused chuckle. "Would you please relax?"

Santana scowls. "I'm relaxed. I'm just cold since someone decided to force me into a dress that barely covers anything."

Mercedes's expression turns sly. "You'll thank me later when we get inside and that girl Brittany gets a look at you."

Santana rolls her eyes, even as she suddenly feels a little less cold. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she clips out but the smug expression stays on Mercedes's face.

A flash of headlights pass over the line, basking the street with light for a few seconds, as a Jeep comes cruising down the street, the top down and a few figures inside vaguely outlined in the night, the bass thumping and shaking the doors. The Jeep is apparently familiar as some people in line holler upon seeing it and heads turn to watch the Jeep drive down the packed street.

"Speak of the devil," Mercedes leans in to whisper to Santana, nodding at the Jeep.

Someone inside the car yells to stop the Jeep and the car screeches to a park right at the end of the queue. A lean figure hops over the side, long hair shaking loose as they clear the doors, and drops to the ground gracefully. The nearby streetlight catches them in the light as they stride closer and Santana trails her eyes upwards over a pair of sturdy leather boots, long legs draped in black ripped jeans, a ripped up band t-shirt that cuts right above a toned abdomen, blonde locks cascading over slim shoulders, and finally onto blue eyes that are sparkling with a curious twinkle. Santana swallows thickly.

"Well, look who made it. Welcome, friends," Brittany says with a smirk as soon as she's close enough, immediately throwing an arm around both Santana and Mercedes.

Mercedes laughs as Brittany's arm settles around her shoulders. "Hey, Brittany. Thanks for the invite."

"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine," Brittany replies with a grin. She turns her head towards Santana, catching her eyes. "Hey," Brittany says casually, her tone slightly lower.

Santana nods up at Brittany, trying to ignore the weight of Brittany's arm around her shoulders. "Hey," she replies back in the same tone.

Brittany starts walking towards the front of the queue with both girls in tow, her palm pressing warmly against Santana's back. "Now, I couldn't just let you two stand in line since I was the one who invited you both. You guys can come in with me."

"Wow, what an honor," Mercedes teases, plucking Brittany's arm off of her shoulders and looping her arm with hers.

Brittany nods seriously, keeping her other arm draped along Santana's shoulders. "It totally is. But I can't take all of the credit. Sam was the one who explicitly told me to get out of the car to make sure I escorted you in."

Mercedes flushes and clears her throat. "Oh, did he?"

Brittany nods up at the entrance of the house as the three girls make their way to the front of the house. "Ask him yourself."

The Jeep that was rumbling down the street is now parked in the driveway right by the front of the house, where a couple of guys are unloading the Jeep of alcohol and walking back and forth with hands full of six-packs and a few carrying kegs. Sam's standing on the front porch, arms around a keg which he sets down the moment he catches sight of the trio making their way to the entrance.

"Mercedes! Hey!" Sam exclaims, a boyish grin on his face as he jogs down the front steps, his blonde hair flopping onto his forehead with each step. "Thanks for coming. Britt let me know she extended the invite to you."

Santana rolls her eyes fondly at how Mercedes's smile widens and the slightly goofy expression that takes over her face as soon as Sam nears. "Of course. How could I miss it?" Mercedes flirts, stepping towards him, and Santana tries to stifle another eyeroll. Mercedes finally pries her eyes off of Sam and darts her eyes over to Santana, as if she was just remembering she was here. "Oh, this is my girl, Santana. It's her first time out in ages so she's trying to have a good time tonight."

Sam and Brittany both laugh at that as Santana shoots her a glare. "Don't listen to her," she says as she shakes Sam's outstretched hand.

"Well, I was going to say that Britt and I can definitely take care of that if you were," Sam grins.

Brittany pushes at Sam's shoulder with her free arm, pressing Santana forward with the arm around her shoulder. "Don't scare her off just yet, Sammy. Now, come on, let's go get these ladies some drinks."

Brittany's arm slips off her shoulder and her palm falls to the small of her back instead as they both walk in, squeezing past the crowd as Brittany guides her through the house.

"So, first time out in ages, huh?" Brittany says from behind her and Santana throws a glance over her shoulder, catching blue eyes and pink lips slightly upturned.

"She's exaggerating. But yes, it's been… awhile," Santana admits and Brittany laughs softly.

"Don't worry, I won't judge. But let's see if you can't loosen up and have a little fun since you're out tonight," Brittany says with a hint of teasing, dropping her palm from Santana's back as the two reach the kitchen.

"I don't know why you keep saying I need to loosen up," Santana leans against the counter, raising an eyebrow at Brittany as the blonde slips by a couple of people in the kitchen to grab a few mixers and bottles.

"It's because you do," Mercedes cuts in, knocking her hip against Santana's as she stands next to her. Sam follows through the kitchen doorway right after Mercedes and grabs four red Solo cups, walking over to where Brittany's waiting with a few select bottles.

"Thanks a lot," Santana grumbles and Mercedes slings an arm around her shoulders, tugging her to her side with a laugh.

"Love you too, girl," Mercedes replies sweetly.

Brittany spins around from mixing their drinks and hands Mercedes and Sam their respective cups. She hands Santana her cup last, their fingers brushing slightly.

Brittany keeps her eyes on Santana's as she lifts her cup towards the middle of where the four are huddled in the kitchen. "To loosening up," she says with a grin.

Santana rolls her eyes as the group chuckles but she extends her cup towards the center, knocking the rim lightly against Brittany's.

"To loosening up," Santana echoes, eyes still locked with blue ones, before lifting her cup to her lips and taking a long swig.

/

Santana screws her eyes tight as she swallows large gulps of beer, feeling a trickle slip down her chin, before she tilts her head back and empties the cup. She swipes the beer off of her chin with her thumb, chancing a quick glance across the table at Brittany who's still drinking from her cup before hurrying to place her empty Solo cup on the edge of the table.

"Hurry up!" Mercedes practically yells into Santana's ear next to her, but she can barely hear her over the cheering from the small crowd gathered around them.

Santana taps the cup upwards into the air with a flick of her wrist, the cup flipping and landing on its side, and Santana scrambles to get the cup back into place again. A roar from the other side of the table makes Santana look up to see Brittany finish her drink and flip her own cup, her first attempt barely tipping over.

"Come on, come on," Santana mutters to herself, her pulse spiking as her side of the table cheers her on and Santana tries again, flicking her wrist and tapping the bottom of her cup upwards. Santana watches it sail upwards and land perfectly on the table and she pumps her fist and lets out a yell at the same time her side of the table erupts into cheers.

The crowd around them bursts into rowdy applause and screaming and Santana laughs, feeling warm all over from the adrenaline and the alcohol. Mercedes pulls her into a hug, yelling into her ear, as their other teammates crowd them and slap congratulatory hands onto Santana's back.

Santana looks over Mercedes's shoulder across the table to find Brittany already watching. When she notices Santana look over, she smirks and bows slightly, bringing her hands together in applause.

"Okay, okay, you guys may have took Flip Cup, but we definitely are gonna own you guys at beer pong," Sam says as he comes between Santana and Mercedes, shrugging his arms around both of the girls.

Santana laughs as Mercedes shoves at Sam's chest but doesn't make a move to dislodge his arm. "Oh, you want your ass kicked even more?" Mercedes teases back.

"Why don't we switch it up? You and Sam partner up for beer pong and I'll team up with Brittany," Santana suggests, eyeing the two grinning at each other.

Sam lifts his hand up towards Santana for a high-five and Santana meets his palm with hers. "I like you. Let's do it. Britt, did you hear that?" Sam hollers out over his shoulder to where Brittany's chatting with a few people as a new group sets up the table for another round of Flip Cup. At the sound of her name, Brittany jogs around the table over to them.

"Sorry, what's up?" Brittany asks.

"Me and 'Cedes versus you and Santana for beer pong. Down?" Sam asks and Brittany glances over at Santana before nodding.

"I'm game," Brittany confirms and Sam cheers, tugging Mercedes with a laugh over to the beer pong table. Santana shakes her head as she follows after the two, Brittany falling into step with her.

"Congrats, by the way," Brittany says, nudging her shoulder against Santana's.

Santana laughs. "Thanks. You weren't too bad, I guess."

"You _guess_? Come on, I almost had you!"

Santana scoffs good-naturedly. "If by _almost_ , you mean barely. I don't think you were even close to getting your cup upright."

Brittany grins as the two reach the beer pong table. "Well, let's see if you're as good at beer pong as you are at Flip Cup. I mean, I usually team up with Sam but I guess we're mixing it up."

The few cups of alcohol in her system makes Santana feel a little loose so she leans in close, fingers brushing against Brittany's elbow. "Yeah, I figured we'd give those two some time together," Santana says lowly as she nods over to Sam and Mercedes, the two laughing as they set up the beer pong table.

Brittany glances down quickly, before raising her eyebrows and nodding, whispering conspiratorially, "Good idea. I thought I was the only one who noticed the chemistry happening over there."

Santana shakes her head slowly. "Nope. Apparently, my role for tonight is wingwoman." Her eyes widen slightly. "Don't tell Sam."

Brittany chuckles, cocking her head slightly, lips twitching up in amusement. "I won't if you don't tell Mercedes that that's my role for tonight too."

Loud, raucous laughter erupts from the other end of the beer pong table, where Mercedes has her head thrown back in laughter, gripping Sam's bicep as Sam grins down at her, and it pulls both of their attention for a second before Brittany and Santana look back to each other with a knowing look before stifling a giggle.

"They're hopeless," Brittany shakes her head as she watches them before glancing back to Santana. "At least, we're in the same boat. Then again, I am putting my reigning beer pong champ title on the line here because of it so..."

Santana rolls her eyes playfully at Brittany's casual shrug and barely stifled smirk before grabbing a white ping pong ball and dipping it in water. She holds Brittany's gaze as she lifts the white ping pong ball up to her lips, blowing gently to get it dry.

"Hey, guys?" Santana calls out to Sam and Mercedes, eyes still on Brittany who arches an eyebrow. "No looking shoot-out to see which team goes first?"

"Sounds good!" Sam hollers back.

Brittany grins at how Santana merely arches an eyebrow back to her. "You're sure you've got this?"

Santana raises her arm, prepping for the throw. "You know, I think you've really got to stop underestimating me," she says, keeping her eyes on Brittany as she flicks her wrist, sending the ball arcing through the air.

Blue eyes stay on hers even as her ball shoots across and Sam's throw, his eyes closed, makes its way over. Santana hears Sam's ball bounce off the rim of one of their cups while her ball makes a satisfying splash in one of the cups across the table. Santana smirks.

Brittany's eyes finally pull away from hers to look across the table where Mercedes is fishing out Santana's ball out of one of the cups. "No way," Brittany breathes out.

Santana steps forward and curls her fingers around Brittany's hand, opening her palm and placing a ball in her hand.

"Your turn," Santana says simply, relishing the stunned look on Brittany's face before Brittany shakes her head to get back into focus, slightly chuckling to herself before taking her shot.

/

"You guys are killing us," Sam wails, throwing his hands up as Brittany sinks another shot, smirk firmly in place.

She shrugs. "Drink up, Sammy."

Mercedes laughs, clapping her hands onto Sam's shoulders as he lifts the cup of beer to his lips. "I thought you said you were the reigning champ."

Sam finishes the beer with a gulp, wiping his lips before shooting a harmless glare across the table. "I am! Or I was before Brittany went over to the dark side."

Brittany steps back, allowing Santana to step in front of her and up to the beer pong table so she can take her turn. "Not my fault Santana's a way better shot than you," Brittany teases, as she shoots her a quick glance out of the corner of her eye.

Santana shoots her a look before lining up to take her turn. She sends the ball sailing in a perfect arc, plopping down into another cup with a splash. "That one's all yours, Wheezy," Santana calls out smugly.

Mercedes narrows her eyes at Santana as she picks up the cup. "I regret bringing you now," Mercedes says flatly but with a smile on her face as she gulps down the rest of the beer, screwing her face in disgust as she tips the cup all the way back. "Gross."

Santana steps back so that Brittany can take her turn but apparently, Brittany has the same idea and Santana stumbles back, tripping over her feet as they bump into each other. Immediately, Brittany's hands shoot to Santana's hips, steadying her.

"Whoa," Brittany says from over Santana's shoulder, her fingers tightening against the fabric of Santana's dress. "You good?" Santana can feel Brittany's breath float across the back of Santana's neck and the exposed skin of her shoulders.

"Fine," Santana takes a shaky breath as she steps out of Brittany's grip and to the side, "Sorry. Just, um, take your shot."

Santana definitely can't look over at Brittany, so she looks across the table where Mercedes has her eyebrows raised, her eyes darting back and forth between the two, having caught the exchange.

Thankfully, Brittany takes her shot without any remark, the ball bouncing off the rim.

Sam and Mercedes manage to rack up a decent rally, narrowing down their cups from six to three cups, whereas Santana and Brittany have one cup remaining, and the heat of the competition draws a larger crowd around them.

"Come on, I'm getting thirsty," Sam taunts, an easy grin on his face.

"Shut up, I'm trying to focus," Brittany shoots back before focusing back on the single cup at the end of the table. Brittany bends her knees slightly, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet, and launches her shot, but the ball's overthrown, landing in Mercedes's outstretched hands.

Brittany curses under her breath, shaking her head. She stands next to Santana with her hands on her hips. "Sorry," she mutters.

Santana can't help but chuckle. "It was close," Santana offers, but she trails upwards towards the end of her sentence, seeing as the ball missed by more than half a foot.

Brittany sighs. "You're gonna have to win it for us."

Santana's eyes widen, eyes glancing around the crowd gathered around. "What? No way! I haven't sunk a shot in ages. And the last cup's always the hardest."

A ball splashes in one of the cups on Santana and Brittany's end of the table, gaining a cheer from the crowd around them as Sam and Mercedes's cups narrow down to just two cups, and Mercedes hollers for Santana to drink up. Brittany shakes her head, pushing away Santana's outstretched hand, and picks up the cup, fishing out the ball.

"I'll drink this for you. You need to stay steady enough to sink the shot," Brittany says before quickly drinking the cup's contents.

Sam's shot misses and it's their turn. The crowd around them cheers, yelling for the two to sink the last cup and take the game. Santana hesitates in stepping up to the table and Brittany places her hands on Santana's shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Look, I believe in you, Santana. You've got this," Brittany says seriously, her blue eyes, slightly hazy from the beer, boring into Santana's brown ones, and Santana feels the crowd noise fading with Brittany's determined gaze. The corner of Brittany's lips quirk up lazily as Brittany's eyes dart down quickly before looking back up into Santana's eyes. "Now, take the shot."

Santana nods, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, and steps up to the table, ball in hand. The crowd gets even antsier, racketing up the noise, and Mercedes and Sam try to break her focus across from her. She can barely hear all of the commotion, though, instead, Brittany's voice is the one she hones in on, her voice clear behind her as she repeats, "You've got this!"

Santana aims her shot, practicing the movement to make sure her aim is steady, but the few cups of beer she's had makes the solitary cup in the distance look so much farther and her vision slightly shaky. Still, she takes one more deep breath, closing and opening her eyes to see the cup a little clearer, and visualizes the ball making it in, before she launches her shot, the ball arcing through the air.

It's a still moment as everyone collectively holds their breath, but a second later, the ball clunks off the inside of the cup, spinning around the rim for a few torturous circles, before the ball finally splashes in.

Santana's standing there, a little stunned, when bodies crowd around her as the crowd erupts. Brittany's there first, her arms wrapping around Santana's waist as she cheers into Santana's ear, slightly lifting her off her feet, and the win finally sets in for Santana as she wraps her own arms around Brittany's neck, laughing breathlessly. Strangers crowd them, chanting their names and slapping hands onto their backs.

With Brittany's strong grip around her waist and lifting her up in her arms, she's able to see over the crowd over to Sam and Mercedes who are shaking their heads with grins on their faces and she laughs, pumping her fist in victory, before letting out a squeak as Brittany spins the two.

Brittany's nose nudges against Santana's cheek and Santana's fingers tighten around Brittany's neck with the spin and they both seem to realize at the same time the position they're in and break apart, Brittany setting her down quickly.

"Great game," Brittany says, slightly out of breath, a grin on her face as she squeezes Santana's biceps, "Told you you could do it."

"Yeah," Santana echoes, feeling short of breath as well, "Great game."

Before Brittany can say anything else, Santana feels herself being whisked away at the elbow as Mercedes tugs her into her arms with a loud laugh, and Santana gets caught up in the victory again, squealing excitedly into Mercedes's ear.

/

The night goes by at a much more relaxed pace after the two back-to-back games. The four migrate into the living room, where there's a smaller crowd dancing to the music pumping through the loudspeakers at the front of the room, and various people sprawled across arm chairs and couches.

Santana's nursing her beer, swishing the amber liquid in her red plastic cup around, as she leans against the wall. She's definitely a little drunk, her breath feeling loud in her ears and her skin hot to the touch, and she closes her eyes, feeling slightly woozy as she takes a sip of her beer. Santana's only half-listening to the conversation Sam and Mercedes are having next to her, but her eyes keep trailing across the room.

Brittany got pulled away the moment they stepped into the living room, various people laughing and pulling her into their arms for hugs. She shot a quick apologetic glance to three of them, locking eyes with Santana as she mouthed, "Sorry," before she was pulled across the room.

Even now, Santana can see Brittany's grin from across the room, her head thrown back in laughter as she greets another person she apparently knows, the woman looping her arm around Brittany's waist. Santana looks away and takes another sip.

Not that Santana's been keeping track, but Brittany seems to know everyone since she stepped through the door, always surrounded by more than a handful of people. She's the perfect host, magnetic and charming with a teasing smirk on her face and a laugh that rings out through the crowd. She stands out too with the way she carries herself, languid and lax, an easy confidence as she slings her arms around people's shoulders, and it's easy to see why she draws the crowd that she does.

Mercedes grips her elbow and Santana turns to face her. Mercedes leans in closer to Santana's ear so she can hear her over the noise. "Sam and I are gonna talk somewhere private."

Santana pulls back to only shoot her a look, tucking her lips into her mouth as she waggles her eyebrows. Mercedes rolls her eyes. "Nuh uh, not like that," she hisses, "That's _so_ not happening tonight. We're just gonna grab some time alone. That cool?"

Santana chuckles, keeping her eyebrows raised. "Whatever you say," she sing-songs and Mercedes swats her on the arm before following Sam out through the crowd, their hands linked together.

Santana takes another sip of her beer, cringing at the taste as she realizes it's gone flat, before she casts another cursory look over the crowd. Again, her eyes land on Brittany across the room, watching her grin as she's surrounded by a group of women, the attention solely on her, before someone jostles into her as the song changes and the crowd livens with it.

Santana downs the rest of her beer, suddenly feeling too crowded, and sets her cup down, weaving through the crowd and making her way upstairs. She avoids the closed doors as she squeezes through towards the end of the hall. Her instinct proves right, as a door at the end of the hall leads to an outside deck, and she pushes through the door to find the deck surprisingly empty.

The night air feels brisk and refreshing against her hot skin, and she leans against the railing, watching the crowd below on the front lawn mill about. The party's still going strong, the music and the crowd slightly muffled as the noise wades through the air, but it's a few hours into the early morning and people are slowly starting to filter out. She basks in the silence and the cool night, her pulse thudding solidly in her head as she sobers up, when the door swings open, noise bursting through for a second before muffling again as the door swings shut.

Santana spins, slightly startled, only to find Brittany with her hands outstretched as she walks towards her. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, you're okay," Santana reassures her as Brittany stands next to her at the railing, leaning her elbows on the wood.

"Where's the other two?" Brittany asks, glancing down at the crowd below them.

"They went off to go have some time _alone_ ," Santana says with a roll of her eyes and Brittany giggles.

"Ah, so your mission tonight turned out to be a success then," Brittany grins, nudging her shoulder against Santana's.

Santana laughs. "Yeah, I guess. Yours too, then."

Brittany's grin turns sly. "Well, you did most of the work for me so thanks."

Santana lifts a shoulder. "That's true. Tell Sam I'll send him an invoice for all the billable hours." Brittany laughs, a full and genuine one, and it makes Santana's lips tug upward.

Brittany shakes her head, still chuckling. "So, what are you doing hiding out here by your lonesome?"

"Oh, I just needed to get some air."

"You know, you could've came and found me since the other two ditched you. I don't mind getting air."

"Yeah, well," Santana glances away from Brittany's eyes, looking back down at the crowd, "It looked like you were busy, so..."

"Still," Brittany urges and Santana looks back to her to find her gaze hasn't wavered from Santana's profile, "We're kinda friends now, right? So you can always come find me at these things, okay?"

Santana's surprised by how clear Brittany's eyes are despite all of the alcohol she's had. She knows she's had to have had at least five or six more cups than Santana's drank tonight. "Okay," she agrees, "I'll come find you next time."

The smile on Brittany's face is bright in the dark. "Good."

A beat passes, comfortable silence falling between them as the party and the night goes on around them.

"You know, I forgot to mention this earlier but… you look beautiful tonight, by the way," Brittany murmurs and Santana glances over. Brittany looks up at her through her eyelashes, her expression serious, and it sobers Santana up that much quicker.

Santana arches an eyebrow coolly, even as her pulse spikes at the look on Brittany's face. "I think that's breaking one of my rules, remember?"

Brittany blinks before a lazy grin spreads across her lips. "Friends can't compliment each other?"

"They can," Santana replies slowly, "But I don't think you meant it that way."

Brittany holds her gaze for a few seconds before she breaks, laughing as the grin on her face turns shameless. "Okay, maybe you're right. But I think I should get a grace period then, you know, so I can adjust." Santana rolls her eyes and she blows out a breath and it makes Brittany giggle even more. "I mean, please feel free to tell me I look great too. That's what friends do, right?"

Santana rolls her eyes at how transparent Brittany's fishing for compliments but she blames the lingering buzz from all the beer as she indulges her. "You look good too."

Brittany laughs, her satisfaction obvious across her face. "See, that wasn't so bad, right?" Santana can't help but roll her eyes, her cheeks feeling warm from the teasing tone in Brittany's voice. "Also, by the way, where the heck did all _that_ come from tonight?"

Santana groans, running a palm over her face, slightly embarrassed. "Oh, come on."

"Uh," Brittany laughs, "I'm serious. Like, who knew you were such a Flip Cup and beer pong pro?"

Santana picks at the railing with her thumb, keeping her eyes downcast. "It's nothing. Just because I don't party like you do doesn't mean I can't hang."

"So why don't you? I mean, clearly, you've got the skills," Brittany says, smiling.

Santana shrugs. "It's just not my thing like it is yours."

Brittany cocks her head. "What do you mean?"

Santana glances over to her to see if she's serious and Brittany raises her eyebrows expectantly. "You know... I mean, it's pretty clear you kinda live for this from what I saw downstairs. Like you get off on all the people and the booze and the," she waves a hand flippantly, "everything."

Brittany just stares at her, the expression on her face inscrutable. "Is that really what you think?"

Her tone is softer, quieter than Santana's ever heard her, and the smile on her face has slipped off, and Santana feels her stomach twist. "It just… seemed like it, is all," Santana replies lamely.

Brittany looks at her and Santana doesn't break her eye contact as she swallows, before Brittany sends her a soft smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Maybe you just don't know me well enough."

Brittany turns her head to look up at the sky and Santana's mouth feels dry. "That's true," Santana agrees softly, eyes trailing over Brittany's profile in the moonlight, "I don't."

For a few seconds, there's only the faint sound of the crowd and music, the party starting to quiet, and the buzzing of insects swarming around the nearby streetlight. A flash of light illuminates the two on the deck as a car passes slowly on the street and below, more people filter out, stumbling onto the sidewalk and into the night.

Brittany turns her back to the deck, leaning her elbows back against the railing and turning her head towards Santana. Her lips are spread back in that easy, lazy smile. "So what's your thing, Santana Lopez? Since we're getting to know each other."

Santana shrugs. "Mostly school. Trying to graduate with honors, get to law school, and eventually pass the bar." The too-familiar smirk comes across Brittany's face as she bites down on her lip. "What?"

"It's just… I asked what you're into, not what your five year plan was," Brittany retorts, arching an eyebrow.

Santana rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. "Maybe it's the same thing, to me at least. Anything else are just distractions, in my opinion."

Brittany throws her head back in a quiet laugh, rubbing at her neck as her hair shakes loose over the railing behind her. She straightens up, making eye contact with Santana solidly. "So was tonight was just a distraction then? Because it seemed to me like you were actually having fun."

Santana looks between sharp blue eyes. "I did have fun," she admits, "But like I told you at the beginning of the night, I'm only here because of Mercedes."

Brittany turns her body fully towards her, the top of her boot pressing against the side of Santana's shoe. Her gaze doesn't relent, eyes still on Santana. "Is that the only reason you came tonight?"

Santana swallows as a thick beat of silence passes between them. Suddenly, the door to the deck swings open and both heads turn to find Mercedes at the doorway.

"Oh," Mercedes takes one step forward, glancing between the two, before stopping, "There you are, Santana. I've been looking for you. Ready to go?"

Santana steps away from Brittany. "I'll be right there."

Mercedes nods, passing back out through the doorway, and Santana looks back to Brittany. "I'll see you around," Santana says in goodbye and turns to leave, not waiting for a reply.

She feels eyes on her back as she walks across the deck and the feeling doesn't relent until the door swings closed behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter is on the shorter side, but it's only because the scene I was going to add to this chapter ended up... exploding and I got a little bit carried away, oops. So that's going to be the next chapter instead!

* * *

Santana groans at the harsh morning light streaming in past the open plastic blinds, turning her face into the pillow to escape the brightness. With her eyes screwed shut, she stretches her arm out, feeling for anything in arm's reach. Her fingers curl around what feels like a shoe and she chucks it towards the other side of the room.

It lands with a satisfying thud and a responding grunt of pain.

"I know you did _not_ just," Mercedes muffles out groggily from her raised twin bed.

"You left the blinds open," Santana grouches into her pillow, bringing the covers over her head to shield herself further from the light, and tries to get comfortable. It's a little difficult to accomplish when her throat is scratchy and dry, her head is slightly throbbing, and the air mattress on the floor has been a pain to sleep on all night.

The shoe lands back somewhere near her on the floor, thankfully missing her.

"And that's why you lost at beer pong last night," Santana chuckles.

A pillow manages to hit her this time and she grunts, popping her head out from under the covers to send a glare at Mercedes. Mercedes is turned towards her, propping her head up in her palm, an eyebrow arched challengingly.

"Rude, but you let me crash here, so I'm gonna let it slide," Santana points at her warningly.

Mercedes rolls her eyes fondly. "I forgot what a delight you are in the morning. Anyway. Speaking of beer pong…" Mercedes starts slowly, but she has that glint in her eye.

"Do you want coffee? I need caffeine. My head hurts like a _bitch,_ " Santana ignores her, sitting up and running her hands through her hair.

"Nope. Nuh uh. You're the one who woke me up, so now that I'm awake, it's talk first, coffee later."

"What's there to talk about? You suck at beer pong. End of story."

"Shut up and tell me the deal with you and Brittany."

Santana groans, flopping backwards back onto the bed. "Not this again."

"Uh, _yes_ this again, because she is so into you! She was making eyes at you all night."

Santana rolls her eyes. "Yeah, me and half the party."

"Oh please, she wasn't wrapped around half the party constantly."

Santana flushes slightly, remembering the still lingering feeling of Brittany's palm against her back and her grip on her hips as she lost her footing. But then she remembers how Brittany was with everyone as she made her way around the room, greeting everyone with friendly kisses on the cheek and casual grabs at waistlines and arms. "Actually, she's like that with everyone so, yes, she was."

Mercedes hums a noise of consideration. "Okay, maybe you have a point there."

"Great! Glad that's settled," Santana says dryly, "Are we done now?"

"But I'm telling you," Mercedes continues over Santana's groan of protest, "There's total chemistry there. She's into you."

Santana glances at the knowing look on Mercedes's face and hates that this girl can read her like a book. "I know," Santana admits begrudgingly, grumbling a little. "She asked me out already."

Mercedes throws her head back and lets out a satisfied cackle, grinning wide. "I knew it!"

Santana rolls her eyes. "Calm down. I said I wasn't interested."

Mercedes's jaw drops, aghast. "Now, why the _hell_ would you say that?"

"Because I'm not?" Santana says with a shrug as she sits back up and stretches her arms upwards. Mercedes is still staring at her in disbelief so Santana shakes her head, already knowing what she might say. "I'm not!"

Mercedes still looks skeptical. "That's not the vibes I'm picking up. From either of you. Especially out on the deck last night."

Santana scoffs, but her face feels hot under Mercedes's knowing stare. She casts her eyes upwards, blowing out a breath. "Okay, what do you want me to say? That I'm attracted to her? 'Cause yeah, I am, but that doesn't mean I'm interested or want to… _date_ her or anything."

Mercedes's ringing laugh makes Santana look back to her incredulously. "No one said you have to date her. Just, you know," Mercedes smirks, "Have some fun. Get laid for once."

Santana barks out a laugh. "That's rich, coming from you," she teases, arching an eyebrow.

Mercedes grins. "Okay, I may not be down with _getting down,_ " she waggles her eyebrows, making Santana laugh, "But that doesn't mean I don't think that a little hooking up would be good for _you_. We're in college! You really need to be having some fun, girl."

Santana just shakes her head again, but this time, she can't help the amused smile that breaks across her face. "I have plenty of fun." Mercedes shoots her a look. Santana laughs. "What, I do! But seriously, I'm just not interested. We're friends, sort of, and that's that."

"Well, I think that is a whole load of crap, but okay, do you,"' Mercedes tucks her lips into her mouth, raising her eyebrows.

Santana laughs, standing and pulling her shoes on. "Okay, now, are we done? Because this conversation took, like, five years off my life, so I definitely need coffee now."

Mercedes flops back into her bed with a groan, pulling the covers up to her chin. "I don't wanna drive. My head hurts."

Santana rolls her eyes, fixing her hair in the mirror on the wall. "Just give me your keys then, and I'll go grab us both some coffee from the shop down the street."

"Ugh, fine, they're on my desk, but you better not crash my car."

Santana grabs the keys off the desk and goes to stride out of Mercedes's dorm when Mercedes pops her head out of the covers. "Santana, wait!"

Santana freezes in place, her hand still on the doorknob.

"Could you close the blinds?"

Santana lets the door slam shut loudly behind her.

/

After freshening up a little back at her dorm room to feel at least halfway human, Santana makes her way into Mercedes's car in the parking lot, sliding on a large pair of sunglasses as she drives the short distance to the coffee shop down the street.

With the semester break officially in swing, the coffee shop is much less packed than the last time Santana was here with only a few people seated at the small tables inside the shop. Santana's able to walk right up to the register and place hers and Mercedes's orders without any wait.

She tugs her sunglasses onto the top of her head, leaning against the wall by the end of the coffee bar and pulling out her phone to scroll through it aimlessly while she waits.

"Brittany, your order's ready!"

Santana's head shoots up and her eyes meet sharply with blue ones across the coffee shop. Brittany's striding closer, her blonde hair looking a smidge more tousled than usual, a leather jacket draped over her shoulders and covering a tattered tee drawn tightly across her chest, and her legs in her usual ripped jeans leading to worn leather boots. A smile's playing on Brittany's lips and deepening on her face with every step.

"Hey," Brittany says as soon as she's close enough, picking up her coffee off the bar and coming to stand next to Santana, one of her feet propping up against the wall. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Hey," she greets back, only meeting Brittany's eyes for a second before pulling her gaze down to her phone. Santana's glad that her hair, still a little unruly from the morning and tossed all onto one side, gives her a little shelter from Brittany beside her so the blonde can't see how her face is ruddying with a blush. She's not quite sure she can look at her just yet after her conversation with Mercedes this morning.

There's a lull as Santana lets the conversation drop and she can feel Brittany's gaze boring into her profile, but she doesn't lift her eyes off her phone.

"Listen," Brittany starts hesitantly, "Last night… I'm sorry if I said anything wrong—"

"You didn't," Santana cuts in quickly, pocketing her phone. She still can't look at Brittany yet but she doesn't want her to think that she's being awkward because of last night, instead of some particular… _thoughts_ her best friend put into her head. She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear, shaking her thoughts away, and sends Brittany a polite smile. "Sorry. I don't really function right in the morning until after I get caffeine."

Brittany's smile spreads slowly. "I'll make sure to make a note of that," she says nonchalantly, bringing her coffee cup up to her lips, but her blue eyes are dancing behind the rim. It's just casual enough to be friendly, but it still sends heat rushing through Santana's face as her mind instantly goes to the implication and now, Santana's blushing all over again.

"And about last night," Santana says quickly, hoping to change the subject, "Sorry we left so quickly. But we had fun. Thank you, again, for the invite."

Brittany waves a hand. "Yeah, of course. Sam and I were just talking this morning about how fun it was to have you guys over. You guys should totally come to the next one."

"We'll see," Santana replies and Brittany chuckles, lifting her cup to her lips and taking another sip.

"Santana, your orders are ready!"

Santana gives Brittany a quick smile as she passes her, grabbing the two coffee cups off the bar. When she turns around, Brittany's still leaning against the wall, her foot propped up, and eyeing her over the rim of her cup with a gentle smile. Santana hesitates for only a second before going back to stand next to her, leaning against the wall. She catches Brittany's smile widen a bit before she takes another sip.

"So what are you doing here so early? I didn't see you when I came in," Santana asks, lifting her cup to her lips and blowing a little into the rim.

Brittany's eyes flicker downwards before meeting hers again. "I was sitting at one of the back tables. I like to come here the morning after nights out and get a few cups of coffee to wake me up. This," she lifts her cup, "is actually my second cup of the day."

Santana laughs. "I'm sure you needed it. Did the party go on for awhile after we left?"

Brittany groans, running a hand through her hair and tilting her head back to tip against the wall. "Not much longer, but yeah. We probably called it around four in the morning and I caught a few hours of sleep before I had to get some coffee."

"Well, no wonder you're on your second cup," Santana replies before taking a sip. "Do they usually go on that long?"

Brittany chuckles, tilting her head against the wall to look at her with a grin. "Usually. But I'd say they were nowhere near as fun as the one last night."

The grin on Brittany's face is shameless, even if her blue eyes do look a little dull and tired. Santana rolls her eyes, reaching out to tap at the bottom of Brittany's coffee cup gently. "You're clearly sleep-deprived. Drink up."

Brittany laughs but does as she orders, tilting her head back and taking a long sip. "No, seriously," she says, lolling her head against the wall to glance down at Santana, "That was the most fun I've had at one of those in awhile. I'm really glad you came out. We make a good team."

Brittany's voice is scratchy and worn this morning, obviously rough from a late night and a lack of sleep, but the earnest way she says it makes Santana have to look down at her coffee cup. Her thumb rubs along the edge of the coffee sleeve. "Yeah, we do," she agrees, the edge of her nail picking at the cardboard, "I was actually rubbing it in to Mercedes this morning."

"Really?" Brittany says around a laugh.

"Well, yeah," Santana scoffs, glancing back up at her through her eyelashes, "I mean, with how badly she and Sam did, how could I not?"

"Wow," Brittany drawls, "Santana Lopez, trash talker. Who knew?"

Santana reaches out and shoves at Brittany's shoulder. Brittany lets her shoulder fall back exaggeratedly. "Shut up."

Her phone buzzing in her pocket grabs her attention and Santana extends Mercedes's cup to Brittany, muttering a curse under her breath. Brittany takes the cup without a word as Santana fishes her phone out of her pocket with her free hand and curses again at the five texts she has from Mercedes.

"Sorry," Santana says, tucking her phone underneath her arm and taking back Mercedes's cup from Brittany, "That's Mercedes. She's gonna be pissed if her coffee's cold, she says, so I gotta run."

Brittany nods, pushing off the wall with her foot. "Yeah, I have to get out of here too. I'm sure Sam and them are gonna chew me out for not helping them clean up this morning."

They fall into step with each other as they walk out of the coffee shop, Brittany reaching out and holding the door open for Santana as she passes through. They both stop right outside the shop and Brittany tosses her coffee cup into the trash.

"So, it was nice seeing you again," Santana says, cringing internally at the lame goodbye.

Brittany chuckles, amused, and takes a step towards her. "Give me your phone."

Santana arches an eyebrow. "Why?"

Brittany reaches out and grabs her phone from underneath her arm swiftly, taking advantage of Santana's hands being occupied with two coffee cups. "Because," she says, thumbs tapping away at the screen, "I'm giving you my number and we're gonna hang out during the rest of break."

"Oh, we are?" Santana arches an eyebrow.

Brittany looks up with a smirk. "Yeah, we are," Brittany says breezily. She finishes what she's doing on her phone with a final tap. "There. I sent myself a text so I have yours too." Brittany takes another step closer, extending the phone back out towards Santana. "Where do you want this?"

"Um," Santana takes a breath, "Here. Hold this." Santana all but shoves one of the cups she's holding into Brittany's hand while taking a step back. She grabs her phone and tucks it into her back pocket before taking back the coffee cup.

Brittany chuckles a little but then asks, "How'd you get here? Do you need a ride?"

Santana nods at Mercedes's car in the lot. "No, Mercedes let me take her car. How about you?"

Brittany shakes her head. "Nah, I took my bike here."

Santana's eyebrows furrow together as she tilts her head, confused. "You _biked_ all the way here for some coffee? This early?" She says incredulously. "Isn't your place across town?"

Brittany bursts out laughing. "You're cute."

Santana frowns at the reaction and the wide grin on Brittany's face, feeling like she's missing something. "What?"

Brittany shakes her head, clearly amused. "What kind of bike do you think I have?"

Santana rolls her eyes and scans the parking lot. Her eyes land on the bike in question and her eyes widen once she sees it. "Oh," Santana says, a little embarrassed, "That kind."

Gleaming in the early morning sun and against the black asphalt is a slim black motorcycle, the chrome of the handlebars and the wheels glinting in the sunlight.

"Do you have time to go for a ride?" Brittany asks, and it makes Santana's gaze snap back to Brittany, her blue eyes lit up in amusement.

"Um, no, no thanks," Santana says quickly, "I have to get back to Mercedes, so..."

Brittany's eyes narrow, her mouth twitching up into a smirk. "You've never been on one, huh?"

"What? Maybe." Santana flushes, feeling unsettled under Brittany's gaze. "Why?"

Brittany just laughs, not answering her, and instead taking a step backwards off the curb. "Oh, this break's gonna be fun," Brittany calls out, keeping her eyes on Santana as she walks backwards to her bike, "I'll see you, Santana! Tell Mercedes I said hi!"

Santana stays on the curb and watches Brittany slip on her helmet, unruly blonde hair peeking out underneath and spilling onto her shoulders. Brittany throws a leg over the body of the motorcycle, straddling the bike with ease and starting the engine with a roar. The sound seems to rattle through Santana's chest.

Santana finally gets her feet to move towards Mercedes's car in the lot, climbing in and starting the car. She sits there, grateful for the slight tint of the windshield, as she watches Brittany ride by, one of her hands coming up to wave goodbye, before Brittany turns out of the lot and off onto the road.

Santana stares after Brittany for a few seconds, even after her bike's gone from view, before she shakes her head clear, setting the car into drive and driving back to the dorms.

/

"Finally!" Mercedes exclaims as soon as Santana walks through the door of her dorm. "What took you so long? This better not be cold."

"Sorry," Santana says, handing Mercedes her cup, "I ran into Brittany at the shop and we were talking. She says hi."

"Oh?" Mercedes perks up, eyebrows raised.

Santana shoots her a look. "Don't start."

Mercedes rolls her eyes, taking a sip of her coffee. "Fine, but only because you went and got us some coffee."

Santana taps at Mercedes's foot hanging over the edge of the bed. "Scoot over. I'm so over the damn air mattress." Mercedes chuckles but makes room and Santana hops onto the twin bed, flopping backwards with a groan. "God, that's better."

"You know, you could've walked the few yards back over to your dorm if you didn't wanna crash on the floor," Mercedes teases and Santana glares at her.

"Well, I was too tired since we got back here around two in the morning," Santana complains, "Remind me to never go out with you again, by the way. My head still hurts even after coffee."

"Oh, don't be dramatic," Mercedes says, taking a sip of her coffee as she thumbs through her phone, "Besides, you're coming out with me again in a couple of hours."

"I'm doing what now?" Santana says skeptically. Mercedes grins at her phone, tapping a reply to a text, and Santana waves a hand to try and catch her attention. "Uh, hello?"

"Sorry," Mercedes laughs, eyes still on her phone as she taps away. "I'm texting Sam." She clicks her phone shut and tosses it onto the bed. "He wants us to come over later. Both of us. He's having a small day-after kickback and wants us to come through."

Santana groans. "Why do I have to go?"

Mercedes's lips turn up in a sly smile. "He said to check your phone."

Santana rolls her eyes but pulls her phone out.

 _Call For A Good Time (1 Message)_

Her eyes widen a little and she hates that her lips are threatening to twitch upwards, but she keeps cool, knowing Mercedes is watching her reaction. She unlocks her phone to view the message.

 _Come over later._

Mercedes laughs anyways and Santana kicks at her leg, trying to get her to shut up. She taps out a reply.

 _Call For A Good Time, really?_

A reply shoots in.

 _The offer doesn't expire, by the way. And you should see what you're saved under in my phone._

And then another.

 _But seriously, come over later! Bring Mercedes cause Sam wants to see her. We're having a small kickback to get rid of the remaining alcohol from last night. Gonna be just a few people and you guys._

Santana shakes her head, tapping on Brittany's contact to rename her contact under her actual name, before writing out a reply.

 _What am I saved under?_

The three dots pop up, indicating Brittany's typing out a reply.

 _Guess you'll have to come and find out._

Santana doesn't bother responding, instead locking her phone shut, and looks back up to see Mercedes with a smug grin on her face.

"Oh, shut up," Santana grumbles and Mercedes laughs giddily. "What's the deal with you and Sam anyways?" Santana asks, partly curious and partly to turn the focus onto Mercedes and off of her for once. "Did anything…"

Mercedes shakes her head, looking bashful. "No, no. We didn't even kiss. We just talked. It was nice."

Santana arches an eyebrow. "Talked? Really?"

Mercedes rolls her eyes, pinking a little in her cheeks. "Yes, _talked_. He's a gentleman. And sweet. We've been talking for awhile and I'm really digging him. And you know I'm not about any flings or anything."

"Yeah," Santana muses, "He seems like a nice guy. He's definitely into you, though, so don't worry."

"What? How do you know?"

"Brittany told me last night that she was playing wingwoman for Sam to help him out with you."

Mercedes reaches out and tugs Santana upright. "You've been holding out on me this whole time?" She demands.

"Sorry, I forgot! It's early, okay!" Santana argues, holding her hands up defensively.

Mercedes shakes her head, suddenly grinning. "No, this is perfect! I just thought of something! Look, we're gonna hang out this whole break since you're staying on-campus, right?"

"Right…" Santana says warily.

"Okay, well, you can hang out with Brittany when I'm hanging out with Sam since they're both roommates, and we can all hang out together all break. It's a win-win for everyone."

"Uh, how is it a win-win for me? Cause what it sounds like is you'll be ditching me half the time to be with Sam and I'll be stuck with Brittany."

Mercedes levels a look at her. "Look, you can be in denial all you want, but you know that that's totally gonna happen."

"It's _not_ ," Santana exclaims, a touch too loud.

Mercedes waves a hand dismissively. "Okay, whatever. Hook up with her, don't hook up with her, up to you. But come on, it'll be so great to hang out together and also get to hang out with Sam at the same time. And you get along with Brittany and we all get along together and it'll make the break so much better. I mean, you had fun last night, right?"

Mercedes waits expectantly, her eyebrows raised as she leans forward.

"Okay, yeah, I did have fun," Santana mutters.

Mercedes swats her on the arm. "See! It'll be fun. And much more interesting than being in your dorm reading all day."

Santana flushes. "That's not what I had planned for break."

Mercedes laughs. "Girl, you forget how long I've known you."

Santana groans, falling backwards onto Mercedes's bed. "Fine. I'll tag along. But I can opt out at any point, okay?"

Mercedes squeals, falling onto Santana to wrap her arms around her before bouncing off the bed. "Great! Now get dressed. We need to head over in a bit."

Santana groans again, covering her eyes with her arm as she wonders what she just got herself into.


End file.
